CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.--History does not repeat itself, but it rhymes.
Though this world view can easily be attacked for its overly general disposition, the theory was almost flawlessly applicable for the women's basketball team's game Sunday at Virginia.
In January of 2003, the No. 1 Blue Devils walked into University Hall to face the sub-.500 Virginia Cavaliers in what was expected to be another blow-out in Alana Beard and Co.'s whirl-wind tour of the ACC. In January of 2004, Duke once again topped the AP poll, and Virginia was once again struggling to win consistently.
Once the games started, coincidences continued. In both games Duke struggled tremendously in the first half, trailing at halftime to the Cavaliers in both games, shooting 23.1 percent from the field in 2003 and 31.4 percent in 2004. The second half of both games also featured the teams trading the lead over-and-over, and in both contests Virginia held leads over the No. 1 team in the nation at crucial points.
But there was a key differences between the two games, an asymmetry that seemed to favor Virginia this year. In 2003 Beard netted a Duke record 41-points; in 2004, Beard was 3-for-15 from the field with 6:30 left in the game.
In a tremendous sign for the Blue Devils' hopes for their first national championship, Duke learned that it can compete at a high level with other teams when Beard is not playing well. Whether it was Lindsey Harding's speed turning a mundane defensive rebound into a fast break, or it was Monique Currie knifing to the hoop for a big score, or it was the collective Duke team defense that forced Virginia into 24 turnovers, it was as clear that the Blue Devils own one of the best rosters in the country even without Beard. What makes this occurrence even more powerful is that this was an off day for almost the entire team.
Though Duke certainly showed signs of its brilliant abilities in the Virginia game, signs do not always equal victories. And with six minutes left in the game, the Cavaliers trailed the periodically intimidating Blue Devils by only two points and had the home crowd and the game's momentum on their side.
But Virginia soon learned that if nothing about history is inevitable, the scoring of ability of Alana Beard is. With approximately 5:30 minutes in the game, Duke head coach Gail Goestenkors put the Blue Devils in their spread offense. Beard scored eight straight points in this offense, and Duke increased its lead to 53-45.
"She's a second-half player," Virginia head coach Debbie Ryan said. "You really have to defend her a million different ways."
Virginia would cut that lead to four with 2:51 left, but this success would be short-lived. The Cavaliers began full-court pressing the Blue Devils in hopes of forcing turnovers. Instead, Virginia gave Harding, who has freak-nasty speed, just what she wanted.
"I like the press because once I get past the first man, it's a five-on-four, so we got a lot of fast break lay ups out of it," Harding said.
Duke sealed its 63-52 victory by nailing its last 10 free-throws, another positive sign Duke can take away from its mostly lackluster win. While the Virginia game was far from a solid performance for the nation's No. 1 team, the Blue Devils showed signs of why this year's squad has far more tools to cut down the nets in New Orleans.
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